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Team Member Spotlight - Moises Buhain
12:40 PM - March 09, 2023
Briefly describe your background (where you grew up, family, why you came to work for EDCOE).
I was born in the Philippines and emigrated to beautiful San Diego in the ‘80s. I come from a sizeable Filipino household, the youngest of five children, and grew up with warm memories of many family gatherings, delicious food, and colorful dialogue. My wife and I are blessed parents of two kids in elementary and one in college. We also have two fur babies, a French bulldog, and a cat. Before EDCOE, I spent the last two decades employed in various California educational settings, from primary and secondary to higher education institutions. I was drawn to working at EDCOE because of the organization's broad reach in positively impacting school styles across the state.
What is your department, title, primary work location, and how long have you worked for EDCOE?
I’ve been with EDCOE since 2016 and am a Program Coordinator supporting Professional Learning (PL). I benefit from participating in the fantastic Curriculum, Instruction, and Accountability (CI&A) department and invest most of my duties in supporting the EDCOE Geographic and Charter Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) PL events. I currently telework from San Diego. When I was first hired, I teleworked out of San Jose. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to partner and build relationships regionally in Northern and Southern California.
Describe how your role helps support programs/schools/students directly or indirectly.
As a Program Coordinator of PL, I have the fantastic job of brokering resources and professional development experiences to more than 450 different Local Education Agencies (LEAs) throughout the state. This includes organizing as well as delivering both in-person and virtual events. Many of the PLs I assist primarily focus on improving the outcomes of students with disabilities. When strangers ask what I do for a living, I often joke and say I get paid to be a lifelong learner.
What do you most appreciate about your department/team?
Working at EDCOE, we have so much to be grateful for. Consummate professionals warmly surround us. Whether it’s CI&A and our teams at Golden Center, the SELPAs, School Improvement Plan (SIP) and System Improvement Leads (SIL), or Communications, everyone is genuinely generous in sharing their talents and expertise.
What is your proudest moment at EDCOE? Why?
Anytime our EDCOE departments come together to pull off an event is always a proud moment. More recently, I supported the coordination of the Charter SELPA’s Inspiration to Action Symposium, an annual free in-person statewide event for educators. Beyond the palpable esprit de corps our teams exude, the feeling of seeing hardworking educators being able to unplug, ground down, and enjoy themselves for one day is truly priceless.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
As a busy father of three, I often joke that I’m an unpaid Uber driver shuttling my family around. I enjoy being outdoors and teach yoga classes in the evenings several times a week. I just bought a digital camera and hoping to get back into photography.
If you could meet anyone in the world, living or deceased, whom would it be and why?
It would be fun to have dinner with the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill, and Actor Jason Momoa - nothing like a bit of mindfulness, good tunes, and entertainment to warm the soul.
From Gigi Marchini, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Accountability (CI&A)
Why is this individual crucial to your team?
Our CI&A team was fortunate to have Moises join us as the restructuring of departments occurred. Moises has enhanced our team in so many ways, but I will highlight a few of them. Through his work with the Charter SELPA, he has been deeply engaged in professional learning for Special Education teachers and administrators. This knowledge and skill have enhanced what we can offer to our districts and programs. Also, due to the geographical breadth of the Charter SELPA, Moises brought his skills around remote learning tools and using online registration tools (Fonteva) to reach as many potential participants as possible. Lastly, on more than one occasion this year, Moises has traveled to EDCOE to provide training for our local districts and community agencies - he is a valued member of our team.
What are this individual’s greatest qualities?
There are so many great qualities in Moises! He is continually focused on what he can do to support our work. Moises always has a positive mindset and is thinking of creative ways to tackle challenges. I have also found him to be a great listener. When faced with a challenge, he stops, listens, asks thoughtful questions, and proposes ideas - he is truly a team player. Moises is very appreciative of the work that our team engages in and takes the time to acknowledge his appreciation for his fellow team members - this infuses positive energy into the team. I also appreciate his great sense of humor - something that we all can benefit from!